My. God. Patrick Pearson has been arrested for kidnapping me!! Mum and Dad are reeling. I don’t know if they were even going to tell me. Well, they’d have had to at some point, but I guess they were going to struggle to find the right moment to drop that one. At is happened, I overheard them talking in the kitchen.
‘DI Owens has been in touch,’ says Mum.
‘Oh yes,’ replies Dad. My parents have a weird way of speaking to one another at the moment. It’s all sort of stiff and narky. I don’t know if it’s the stress of me being kidnapped or what. I think it was there a bit even before then. Not sure. Anyway, when they talk to one another now, it’s like they’re constantly waiting for bad news or are about to deliver it. Something like that. I miss them just being – I don’t know – themselves. Sort of relaxed and nice to each other.
‘The police have checked out Toma’s alibi and since the funds he has in his account are a certified gift from me, there is no case against him.’ Who is Mum talking about? Who is Toma? I sit at the top of the stairs that lead straight into the kitchen; my parents have their backs to me, so they don’t know I’m listening. It’s a funny thing. We now live in a massive house but honestly, because it’s all open plan, there are no secrets. Or rather, there are loads of secrets, apparently, but it’s easier to find them out now than when we lived in our small house when everyone had a door they could close. I’m guessing Dad didn’t take that into account when he picked this place.
‘So, what now?’
‘They said they had someone else in for questioning.’
‘Who?’
‘Patrick Pearson.’
‘Patrick Pearson?’ Dad sounds stunned.
‘Yes. They haven’t arrested him, but I think it’s only a matter of time.’ Mum sounds satisfied with this, vindicated.
‘Shit.’ Dad takes a step backwards, staggers a bit, rests his hands on the kitchen unit, as though he needs something to keep him upright.
Mum snakes her arms around his back and rubs him, like she’s comforting a child. ‘I know, this is huge, isn’t it? DI Owens said there is a paper trail to enormous sums of money in various offshore accounts that can ultimately be linked back to our account. Well, a digital trail, I suppose.’
‘How much money?’
‘He didn’t say.’
‘And you didn’t give him the money? It’s not another one of your gifts, is it?’
‘Ha ha, Jake,’ Mum says dryly.
‘I’m serious.’
‘No, of course I didn’t give him any bloody money. I hate the man.’ Dad nods but doesn’t look at her. Mum is staring at him, trying to make eye contact, trying to read him. She used to be very good at that. She used to say she knew his every thought, then she’d joke that it wasn’t tricky as all he ever thought about was food or sport. I think he has a lot more on his mind nowadays. ‘Must be hard for you to process the betrayal. It’s a massive shock,’ she says.
‘No, it’s not that. Well, yes, yes, obviously. But—’ My dad shakes his head. He seems bewildered.
‘I mean it’s also a relief, right? Now we’ve found out who did it, the kids are safer.’ Mum sounds shrill. I can see her face side-on. She looks hard, furious. Then her face sort of collapses and she starts to cry. This is her thing; she behaves aggressive and tough just before the moment she shows her vulnerability. I think she needs to take some evening primrose or something. ‘I am devastated too,’ she admits. ‘I’ve known for months that Patrick is a vile, despicable criminal, but I never imagined he’d hurt our daughter, a child he has known since she was born. I suppose that’s self-absorbed of me; after all, he killed Toma’s child through greed and neglect, so actually planning an abduction isn’t such a jump.’ WTF? Patrick killed someone? A child? Mum goes on. ‘The man disgusts me. You saw her, Jake. You saw the state she was in.’
‘I know, I know.’ Dad looks like he’s going to cry again. He’s been like an emotional wreck since I was kidnapped. They both have but Mum tries harder to tough it out, it’s like she doesn’t want to worry me. Dad’s eyes follow me around, scarred, scared, sorrowful. I wish he wouldn’t. It’s hard enough dealing with my own crap. Dad turns